Author Interview...

Given your past work history of 13 years in public government, and community relations, and the fact that you have always been writing, what epiphany did you receive that drew you to writing romance novels?
I wouldn’t necessarily call it an epiphany, but it was certainly a gift that couldn’t be ignored.  I have considered myself a writer since I could pick up a pencil – my first diary is dated January 1975. But the end of my marriage and my need for a creative outlet is what drew me to romance.  I’m a hopeless romantic at heart.

Currently, as a government and community relations officer for Chicago Transit Authority, how do you make the precious time to create and write?
Actually I’m now a Transportation Manger at the CTA.  As for time:  (Laughs) What time?! No, seriously, when I’m on deadline, I come straight home from work, get me a sandwich, and sit at my computer and type for about two hours.  On the weekends I write a lot.

Your latest book, Blaze, set for December, tell us about it? 
Oh, I absolutely love Blaze and I’m crazy about the heroine, who’s a captain of a station house for the Chicago Fire Department.  As the only female, African American Captain, the heroine, Desiree Charles, battles sexism and racism to prove that she’s more than qualified for the job.  Of course it wouldn’t be a romance if I didn’t have a love interest – enter Joshua Davis, who is a lead detective for the Arson Department.  Desiree’s area of responsibility is plagued by a serial arsonist and Joshua works with Desiree to find the culprit.  A long the way they fall in love, but the road wasn’t easy for either of them.  He’d hadn’t dared to love since he lost his wife and she found herself being punished by men for being in a male dominated position.  Does this sound familiar?
Also, for this book, I had to do more research than ever – I have a friend who’s one of the first female, African American Lieutenant’s for the Chicago Fire Department – Annette Nance Holt (she and I attended the same grammar school) and she allowed me to tour a station house, put on the turn out gear, which is seriously heavy, and explained every little nuance about firefighting.  I’m actually very proud of her and honored to call her my sisterfriend! I’m praying that she makes captain!  I don’t think we have an African American, female captain here!  But long story short, Blaze is about looking beyond, fighting for what you want, and perseverance in the face of what could be extreme adversity.

Where do you often find inspiration for your romance novels?
Most of my inspiration comes from stories I overhear while heading into work.  I take public transportation and I overhear so many different conversations.  And I take those conversations and twist them around, put different spins on them, so much so that I often cannot recall the initial conversation.  For the next three books, due to be published by Genesis, the inspiration for Blaze came from seeing a fire truck roll down the street and I didn’t see nary a woman in the truck.  As for Cupid (due out June 2006), slated to be my first shot at a romantic comedy, I got my inspiration from an advertisement for a dating service.  Lastly, for Nights Over Egypt, I’m a huge fan of Egyptology and history – that’s my inspiration. 

What can be seen as a “recurring motif” in your work—any theme of such for readers to identify with?
With my work, I see fear of falling in love, of giving of oneself without reservation and overcoming that fear as a recurring motif, if you will.  Another recurring motif is that men have to go the extra mile, take that extra step to show the woman that you mean business – that she’s who you want to be with.

What did you learn from writing Blaze?
I learned that I really enjoy writing stories that challenge me to move beyond formula – yes, they fall in love, but the road was truly rocky even before the hero and heroine met and I had to get them there, had to make it realistic.  Another thing I learned is that I really enjoy doing research.  LOL!  I know that may sound crazy, because it can be a lot of reading, but I enjoyed learning things about firefighting that I didn’t know.  And I got to meet some wonderful people – especially the team at Engine Company #75 on the South Side of Chicago near the Roseland Community.

How did you begin writing romance novels as opposed to other kinds of novels?
I fell into it.  As I eluded to earlier, my marriage was ending and I needed the outlet.  So I began to write even more – I’ve always had journals, was a journalist – but I started writing a romance, All I Ask, where the hero went that extra mile!  And to be quite frank, in All I Ask, which is my first romance, the hero was everything I had wished my then husband was not.  Writing All I Ask became quite cathartic for me; yet, I also saw the opportunity to fully explore one of my dreams – and that was to write a book. 

How has your Catholic School upbringing influenced and impacted your writing? How has it helped you in terms of being a disciplined author?
LOL!! I have no discipline! None!  But I’m proud and honored to say that I was taught by the Oblate Sisters of Providence – the oldest known order of black religious in all the free world!  These women are phenomenal!  They taught with an iron hand, but they didn’t believe in failure; believed in excellence; didn’t believe that there was a child who couldn’t lean; and, they were fiercely dedicated to the education of black children!! I truly owe a lot of who I am to these wonderful women. And their story is quite interesting and one day I’d like to write their story, tell the American public about these exceptional women, who’s order was founded July 1829, and the discrimination, even by the Roman Catholic Church, they endured to become one of the largest orders for black women wishing to be religious.  Oh, I could talk about these women for hours!  But let me end with what they stand for:  Divine Providence – the benevolent guidance of God.

How has your writing evolved since you first began? Please elaborate.
For starters, I find that I pay extra attention to what and how I write.  I’ve noted that with each book, my work has more clarity to me – more depth. And I’m even unafraid to experiment with the romantic comedy and a possible epic love store.  I also look at my work even more serious than I did when All I Ask first hit the shelves.  This is serious to me – it is one of my loves and I have to take care of it.   I have to use this gift wisely.
As for my style, I’ve found what suits me, light on the drama/conflict, equal parts of emotions and interaction between the hero and heroine.  I’ve also noted that my dialogue is better, my scenes are more polished, and my flow has truly improved, so that my readers don’t have to work hard to understand what I’m trying to get across on paper.

Please tell the BR readers about what you are currently working on.
I’m finishing up Cupid – my attempt at Romantic Comedy, then its on to Nights Over Egypt, which is about a sister who’s a Professor of Egyptology on her way to Egypt to conduct a dig in Tunis, and the Egyptian professor, with eyes the color of rich “cognac,” who wanted to stand in her way, but can’t seem to follow through due to his  fierce attraction to the educated and beautiful “Black American woman.”

If you had known then what you know now, what do you wish you’d done differently in your writing career and why?
I now know to never write when there are heavy emotional upheavals going on.  When I wrote An Unfinished Love Affair I was divorced and coming out of a one-sided relationship with a man I had loved for years.  Once the relationship was over, I had more insight into who I am, my faith in myself even stronger, my self-love intact, but still the emotions were there and quite raw.  And it seeped into the book!  I didn’t realize it until I read it and thought:  oh, my God! Too much drama came forth on the pages.  And I believe it’s because I’m anti-drama in my day-to-day relationships! I don’t do relationship drama at all – haven’t since I was 21! I’m now 41 – so, drama and I are no where near friends.  So I make sure there are no distractions, nothing that will bring discourse to my world.  I write just about everyday – so you know I can’t afford to have a lot of disharmony in my life.

What is the next level for Barbara Keaton, the author?
I’ve been working on a piece of contemporary fiction for at least seven years now! I started it before I wrote All I Ask.  As for my romance, I want to continue to improve on my craft – to continue to challenge myself to go higher, to delve a little deeper into the subject – no surface stuff. 

Tell the readers one thing about you as a person that would shock them?
I’m a home body!! Most readers who meet me feel my zany personality – I love to have a great time, will go to parties alone and meet folks I don’t know, and I find humor in a lot of situations, but I love to sit at home, watch old black and white movies, eat popcorn and read!  That’s a perfect date to me! I’m such a cheap date (smile)! 

And please let me end by thank you for this wonderful opportunity!